Saturday Mail Delivery to End, Postal Service Announces

The U.S. Postal Service announced it will end Saturday mail delivery by Aug. 1. Speak out: How will this affect you?

Calling the six-days-per-week mail delivery business model “no longer sustainable,” the U.S. Postal Service Wednesday morning announced it will eliminate Saturday delivery of mail by Aug. 1. The plan to change delivery from six days a week to five would only affect first-class mail. Packages, mail-order medicines, priority and express mail would still be delivered on Saturdays, and local post offices will remain open for business Saturdays. According to the U.S. Postal Service, the reasons are continued economic struggles and the increasing use of the Internet for communications and bill paying by consumers. The U.S. Postal Service is also the only federal agency required to pre-fund health benefits for retirees, and those costs are …

• Photos (1)

Price of Stamps Increases Sunday

The price to mail a standard letter will be 46 cents.

by Alexandria Patch Staff The price to mail a letter or your bills will go up to 46 cents Sunday. The U.S. Postal Service will also introduce its Global Forever Stamp which will allow customers to mail letters anywhere in the world for one set price of $1.10. USPS first announced the price changes in October. The new price is a penny increase from the previous price. Forever stamps, which you can buy at current prices (Friday and Saturday) are always good for mailing a one-ounce letter anytime in the future regardless of price changes. The price increase comes as the U.S. Postal Service continues to search for ways to diversify its business model, reign in legacy costs for retired postal workers and still provide service. Eliminating …

• Photos (1)

Village Sprouts

Saving the Mailman

Preventing dog-related injuries is a community effort that starts with responsible owners.

No one likes to hear that his or her kid is being a pain. Equally so, you’d like to think that your pet is perfectly behaved at all times. Unfortunately, that isn’t always reality. Last week, as I was bringing baby home from her two-month checkup, I got a text from my neighbor. She said that she’d put my dog and my mail in my house and locked my front door. Initially there was confusion, but then the backstory unfolded.  Apparently as I rushed the girls out of the house with the diaper bag and backpacks and towels and sunscreen and snacks (it was water-play day at preschool summer camp), I didn’t fully latch the door behind me. So when the letter carrier arrived with the mail, there was Hana, our beloved yellow lab mix, to greet him. Other…

•  1 Comment
• Photos (2)